Ugandan Asian community in focus as Asian Network marks 40th anniversary of expulsion

40 years after Ugandan dictator Idi Amin expelled tens of thousands of Asians from the country, the BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio Leicester is set to explore the stories of the people affected by the catastrophic events of August 1972.

Appropriately enough, the focus of the programs will be on Leicester and the large Asian population which found a home in the East Midlands.

Nearly 30,000 Ugandan Asians settled in Britain, with many of them ending up in Leicester.

As part of the coverage to mark the anniversary, the two networks will produce a radio documentary presented by Rupal Rajani who returns to Uganda to discover the circumstances in which she and six other family members were kicked out of the country.

The programme will focus on the difficult relationship between the enterprising and successful Asian community and the often mistrustful Black Ugandans.

The documentary will be broadcast on 06th August on the BBC Asian Network and also on BBC Radio Leicester the same week.

Prior to the airing of the documentary, both networks will mark the date of 04th August, the day Idi Amin declared that all Asians leave the country, forcing thousands to pack up and leave their homes, businesses and lives at a few weeks’ notice.

Those who went through the trauma will share their experiences from a special program broadcast from Belgrave Road in Leicester, the heart of the city’s Asian community.

In October Radio Leicester will mark the end of the three months that Asians had to leave Uganda, interviewing those who settled in Leicester and how they helped changed the landscape of their new home.

Presenter Rupal Rajani says: “I hope these special programmes on the BBC Asian Network and BBC Radio Leicester will help capture the thoughts and memories of first generation Ugandan Asians and also bring about discussion and understanding to the new generation, who may or may not be aware of their roots. They are a celebration of the positive impact that Ugandan Asians have had throughout the UK over the last forty years.”